Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

Amsterdam

As we plan for next summer's cruising, we need to consider Schengen (how long we can stay in some countries), VAT (charged by EU countries if the boat stays there too long) and, finally, where we will winter next year. Amsterdam has been recommended by other cruisers we have talked to so we decided we should jump over and take a peak....6 months can be a very long time to sit in one place. Hard to resist Easy Jet for £39 so we packed our backpacks....luggage is extra.....everything is extra, and zipped off to the Netherlands. The plan was to make Amsterdam our base with a day trip to Rotterdam. Despite nearly being mowed down by a zillion bicycles, we made our way successfully to the hotel near Dam Square. The trip to Rotterdam the next morning took about an hour by train. No tulips but you could envision what the vast fields might look like in the spring. We even saw a few windmills.

Our destination was the Rotterdam City Marina. King negotiated buying us a tram pass and we hopped on the #35. The tram arrived at the end of the line before we discovered we had gone the wrong direction. Not to worry. We just stayed on and rode it back in the opposite direction. Not the first time we have taken the scenic route.

The Rotterdam City marina looks fairly new and is surrounded by several restaurants, a grocery, and a bit of shopping therapy. Showers- check, Laundry- check, near public transport- check, can handle a catamaran- check. Downside, Rotterdam just doesn't have the charm of Amsterdam. Amsterdam on the other hand has several marinas. The Sixhaven is located directly across from the Central Train Station and has easy access to the free ferry that transits the IJ every 15 minutes. It's a bit tight for us there and somewhat dreary in January but there are live aboards during the winter. A brand new marina is in the works but its doubtful it will be completed by the time we need it. I'm thinking a casualty of the economy. We also searched up and down the canals, accosting folks as they walked toward their boats for information on other options. A few leads but nothing to hang your hat on.

While our 3 day trip left little time for sight seeing, we did make time to walk around to get the feel of Amsterdam. Well, to be honest, we had to eat so finding a restaurant each night was about the extent of it. I had chosen our hotel carefully to ensure we were not in the Red Light district. You can imagine my surprise as we walked through a residential section and looked up at a large picture window to the vision of a young woman in a corset and high boots posing for us. Yikes! Overall, food was good, wall hangings a bit strange (see cow below), the architecture was beautiful, the bicycles were lethal and we left undecided.
The London Boat Show began the day after we returned from Amsterdam on January 12. Our neighbours on Lazy Tern had their car so we hopped a ride. The 4 of us arrived before it opened and shut it down at the end of the day. A small show but King managed to find boat goodies that we just couldn't live without. The 4 of us barely fit into the car for the trip home. Our friend Jerry from Cork joined King mid week to do a 2nd run through resulting in my attendance only being 2 days instead of 3...thank you Jerry! I tried several times to get a picture of Jerry. He remains the elusive Irishman but always the best of company.

Just as our friend Suzy was due to touch down at Heathrow from south Florida it began to snow, and snow, and snow! She made it in just before the airport closed but we were not so lucky on the tube getting her home. 4 tube changes (with luggage) and 2 hrs later we arrived at the boat. It appears that London trains and the underground don't care anymore for the snow than Heathrow does. The snow was beautiful. Snowmen of all shapes and sizes popped up everywhere. It seems to bring the 5 year old out in everyone.



Tea with Suzy

In addition to doing "Tea", we wanted to see The Phantom of the Opera while Suzy was here. The goal was to snag decent seats that wouldn't break the bank so we arrived at the box office two hours before show time. We hit the jackpot and found ourselves sitting in centre seats in the the Royal Circle. King did not fall asleep once! As they like to say here "It was brilliant!"

Before Suzy's visit, I scoured all the "Things To Do" sites. A favourite is the FREE lunch time classical concerts at St Martin in the Field. This week they were also doing one of their Jazz Nights in the Crypt. Not FREE but £5 for an unreserved seat. Sounded like a perfect night out so I invited the boat neighbours to join us. The advertised performer was an Italian pianist and accordionist ....."combining minimalist jazz with tango and rumba"......hmmmm. Ok, for £5 we could be daring. Now, in my defence, I'm reading "Pianist". I mean really. I simply could not imagine a jazz accordionist. My mistake. If there was a piano, it was played long after we could no longer tolerate one more pump on the accordion. Judy noticed there were finger nail scratches down the sides of one of the crypt columns and suggested they were from one of the full time residents of the crypt expressing their opinion of the concert. We soothed our ears at a hidden away Port and Wine bar which was so crowded we had to join the crowd at the outside tables.....in 30 degree weather. The port helped.....but not enough. We drank fast. Still not a true Londoner.





Pick up right at the airport



First Easy Jet flight - 39 pounds!




The view from our hotel in Amsterdam

This was hanging on the wall of the restaurant that we visited the first night.
No, it was not McDonalds

Bicycles everywhere!

Ostinato's first snow



Snowman in front of Dicken's Inn at St. Kat's





Snowmen were popping up everywhere!  This one was on the walking bridge looking over the West basin.

Footprints to the head